Though the roadway alluded to in my obtuse headline does exist, I’m speaking not of a cross-EU jaunt. Rather, hot on the heels (relatively speaking) of the Canadian men’s national team’s friendly against Ukraine next Friday, we’ll also be playing #12-ranked Greece on February 9, the Canadian Soccer Association announced today.

To me, this is great news — and it seems like most other observers agree. As one of our readers astutely pointed out, Greece is “a talented team but one we can theoretically beat.”

As the CSA release notes, this match will be “in preparation for” the 2011 Gold Cup, a tournament where there’s plenty (FIFA points, a potential berth in the Confederations Cup, and continental “glory”) on the line. So you’d have to think Stephen Hart will be fielding the strongest possible starting XI for the Greece friendly.

But the Ukraine game next week? The full list of call-ups hasn’t been released, but some interesting names have leaked out. Continue reading →

Just a quick update on what some Canadian players of note managed this weekend in Europe. Up first, winger Josh Simpson. He scored the winning goal in a 3-1 victory for his side Manisaspor over Trabzonspor in Turkey. If Canada qualifies for the 2014 World Cup, he’s going to play a big part in it me thinks.

In the Championship, Iain Hume and Jamie Peters came on as subs just after halftime, while Simeon Jackson came on in the 80th minute. While none of them managed to get on the scoreboard at least they got on the pitch.

Elsewhere in England, guess who didn’t? Our two will-he-or-won’t-he Davids – Edgar and Hoilett – both failed to see action. Some Canadian supporters are grumbling about the fact that while both of these guys continue to sit on the fence in regard to their international futures, maybe some genuine playing minutes with Canada would actually help their club careers. Yes, there’s the injury risk, but with risk comes opportunity, in this case the opportunity to turn some heads and earn playing time in England.

I know he’s only 21, but David Hoilett has played a total of 10 Premier League minutes through five games with Blackburn this season. David Edgar is doing a little better with 146 minutes under his belt at Burnley.

Of course for others, sitting on that fence appears to be working just fine. Jonathan de Guzman (to be fair, I’m not entirely sure he’s “sitting on the fence” with Canada, but that’s another story) logged 90 solid minutes in a central-attacking midfield role and scored in the 90th minute to help Mallorca beat Osasuna 2-0.

In the coming days, Canada head coach Stephen Hart is set to release the rosters for the team’s upcoming friendlies, against Peru on September 4 (in Toronto) and against Honduras on September 7 (in Montreal). Considering the position the team finds itself, most (myself included) would say this is a good time to “blood the pups”; that is, take a look at younger players with little experience for the national team, to see first-hand what they’re capable of.

That being said, it’s also critical to try to get a result from these games, as we need to move up the FIFA rankings to better our lot when it comes to the World Cup qualifying draw. What to do, what to do?

This is by no means an actual roster, or a starting 11; rather, it’s speculative musing about the short- and medium-term future of our men’s national team: Continue reading →

After three long weeks, Some Canadian Guys Writing About Soccer have finally gone and done it. Without further faffing, we present you our new podcast. If you do nothing else, listen to the outtakes at the very end, they’re giggly. Enjoy!

Well, in lieu of a podcast, I still feel obligated to expel some of my nonsensical opinions onto the Internet tonight. And while I’m sure you’d all love to hear my nuanced views about the economic downturn, you’ll instead get bullet points about soccer.

One would hope that you know by now that the women’s national team plays a friendly against the USA on Monday night at BMO Field. Two-thirds of the Some Canadian Guys crew will be there (hopefully not captured on the JumboTron, though if we’re seated anywhere near Rollins, it seems inevitable). If the cross-border rivalry doesn’t do it for you, how about this: our first chance to see highly-touted new head coach Carolina Morace in action? The opportunity to see Christine Sinclair potentially score her landmark 100th goal for Canada? Hell, just the joy of watching top-flight international soccer live?

Or, if you’re just a lecherous 20-something straight male (and if our target market research is reliable, then you probably are), consider: female soccer players are, by and large, the most beautiful athletes in the world. They’re not gangly like basketball players, stumpy like softballers or prepubescent-looking like Olympic gymnasts. Like the proverbial third bowl of porridge, they’re juuust right. Continue reading →